Meanings
present singular third person sends to Coventry · participle present sending to Coventry · participle past sent to Coventry · past sent to Coventry
- idiomatictransitiveTo ostracize, or systematically ignore someone.
The group decided to send the unpopular members to Coventry.
1 more example
"For the statement, in the form in which I offered it, Mr. President, I have no retraction or apology to offer, and only such explanation as I have lately given." "Coventry! Coventry!" came the insistent call. "Well, then, you can send me to Coventry, you friends of Darrin, if you feel yourselves justified in doing it!" quivered Midshipman Jetson, tossing his head and glaring defiantly around the room.
2006, H. Irving Hancock, Dave Darrin's Third Year at Annapolis, →ISBN, page 159
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
Some believe that the phrase dates from the English Civil War, when a military prison was located in that city. Others say it dates from the 18th century, when Coventry was the nearest town to London that lay outside the jurisdiction of the Bow Street Runners and so London criminals would flee to Coventry to escape arrest.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
send to Coventry. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/send%20to%20Coventry
“send to Coventry.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/send%20to%20Coventry. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “send to Coventry,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/send%20to%20Coventry.
Source: send to Coventry on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.